Willys Paint Samples 1959-65

Elsewhere on the web, see chips for most years at AutoColorLibrary.com.

At some point, possibly not until the early 1960's, Willys began putting paint code tags below the VIN plates on the firewall, but often these tags have been lost. They carry the codes found beside the chips on the paint sheets.

177 is Fountain Green Poly on Ron Ingram's 1963 CJ3B. 162 may be black trim.

231 is Treebark Brown Poly on a 1963 CJ3B. 203 may be white trim.
 

179 is Plantation White on a 1962 Ansul Chemical Fire Jeep. 164 may be a custom red trim.
 

225 is Spruce Tip Green Poly on a 1965 CJ-3B. 201 may be white trim.
 

Willys Colors as Shown Here

The graphics below are scans of paint chips for Willys vehicles from 1959 to 1965, in GIF format optimized for monitors showing 256 colours. For each year you can download a JPEG graphic optimized for monitors showing millions of colours, of the full Acme, Dupont or Ditzler sheet for that year, with paint chips and codes and in some cases additional information. All of these reproductions are an approximation of the colors used by Willys, but should not be considered a replacement for actual paint chips.

Monitor adjustment note: You can use SMPTE colour bars (40K JPEG) to check your monitor. The bars are the primary and secondary colours -- look for a lemon yellow and a bright red. Adjust contrast and brightness so you can just barely see three distinct shades of grey in the lower right section.

It is not always clear which of the colors were used by Willys on the CJ-3B in particular years. Windshields were normally painted black. Engine and undercarriage were apparently black. Fan shrouds and seat frames were apparently sometimes olive drab. Additional information is welcome. -- Derek Redmond

How to Match a Color

Jim Marski points out that "Even original paint chips are good primarily to determine the actual factory paint color of your vehicle if you do not have the paint code. They are many times inaccurate and too small to get a reliable scan on a paint store's 'color eye' paint scanner.

"Both PPG and DuPont have color libraries that good automotive paint stores can access to get info on old colors. In some cases the libraries have current formulas for old colors, but not in the new high tech paints, i.e. there may be a formula available for the paint in lacquer or enamel, but not a base/clear coat. In other cases, the library may have the original factory sample which can be scanned to produce a match.

"If neither of these works, determine if there are any parts of the vehicle with original paint in good condition such as inside the toolbox lid, that can be brought to your paint store to be scanned. If none of the above work, the paint store should have a book of colors by hue, which you can use with an original paint chip to find a close match. Looking through colors by year and manufacturer is tedious at best."

See also CJ-3B Specifications.

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